Carroll had 22 points to lead his team to the win while Kyle Korver found his range from beyond the arc after half time to ensure that the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference didn’t fall into a deeper hole.

However, they were able to take advantage of a huge blow for the Wizards as they were without point guard John Wall after he injured his wrist in the series opener. Bradley Beal also had an issue with a sprained ankle after the opening game, but he was able to play and put up 20 points.

Ramon Sessions did a good job filling in for Wall as he finished the game with 21 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Wizards to get the win ahead of Game 3 back in Washington on Saturday night.

It is the first loss of the post-season for the Wizards after they swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round, and it was a huge boost for the Hawks as they received contributions from right across the roster with Al Horford and Paul Millsap scoring 18 points apiece.

Nevertheless, the advantage is still with the Wizards having taken away home court advantage away from their rivals, but now the pressure will be on them to ensure that they make the most of it as the series switches to the nation’s capital.